The document outlines the fundamentals, technologies, and applications of rapid prototyping (RP), emphasizing its advantages over traditional machining. It classifies RP into material removal and material addition methods, describing various techniques including stereolithography and selective laser sintering. RP serves critical roles in design, engineering analysis, and manufacturing, although challenges such as part accuracy and material limitations exist.

1. RAPID PROTOTYPING
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the lecture the student should be able to:
ƒ Explain the fundamentals of Rapid Prototyping
ƒ Outline and explain differences of Rapid Prototyping
Technologies
ƒ Provide applications and benefits of Rapid Prototyping
Courtesy of Dr. Chen, Northern Illinois University

2. Help for Testing

3. Art Sculptures

4. Medical Models

5. Medical Models (Conjoined Twins)

6. Architectural Models

7. Mathematical Models

8. Rapid Prototyping (RP)
A family of unique fabrication processes developed to
make engineering prototypes in minimum lead time
based on a CAD model of the item
• The traditional method is machining
− Machining can require significant lead-times –
several weeks, depending on part complexity and
difficulty in ordering materials
• RP allows a part to be made in hours or days given
that a computer model of the part has been
generated on a CAD system
• WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

9. Why Rapid Prototyping?
• Because product designers would like to have a
physical model of a new part or product design rather
than just a computer model or line drawing
− Creating a prototype is an integral step in design
− A virtual prototype (a computer model of the part
design on a CAD system) may not be sufficient for
the designer to visualize the part adequately
− Using RP to make the prototype, the designer can
visually examine and physically feel the part and
assess its merits and shortcomings

10. Rapid Prototyping Technologies –
Two Basic Categories:
1. Material removal RP - machining, primarily milling
and drilling, using a dedicated CNC machine that is
available to the design department on short notice
− Starting material is often wax, which is easy to
machine and can be melted and re-solidified
− The CNC machines are often small
− Called desktop milling or desktop machining
2. Material addition RP - adds layers of material one at
a time to build the solid part from bottom to top

11. Starting Materials in Material Addition RP
1. Liquid(s) that are cured layer by layer into solid
2. Powder(s) that are aggregated and bonded layer by
layer to form a solid
3. Solid sheets or filaments that are laminated to create
the solid part

12. Addition RP Methods
• In addition to starting material, the various material
addition RP technologies use different methods of
building and adding layers to create the solid part
− There is a correlation between starting material
and part building techniques

13. Steps to Prepare Control Instructions
1. Geometric modeling - modeling the component on a
CAD system to define its enclosed volume.
2. Tessellation of the geometric model - the CAD model
is converted into a computerized format that
approximates its surfaces by facets (triangles or
polygons) – STL file format.
3. Slicing of the model into layers - the model in
computerized format is sliced into closely-spaced
parallel horizontal layers.

14. Figure 1 - Conversion of a solid model of an object into layers (only
one layer is shown)

15. Alternative Names for Rapid Prototyping
• Layer manufacturing
• Direct CAD manufacturing
• Solid freeform fabrication
• Rapid prototyping and manufacturing (RPM)
− Indicates that RP technologies are being used
increasingly to make production parts and
production tooling, not just prototypes

16. Classification of Rapid Prototyping
Technologies
• There are various ways to classify the RP
techniques that have currently been developed
• The RP classification used here is based on the
form of the starting material:
1. Liquid-based
2. Solid-based
3. Powder-based

17. Liquid-Based Rapid Prototyping Systems
• Starting material is a liquid
• About a dozen RP technologies are in this category
• The following are described here:
− Stereolithography
− Solid ground curing
− Droplet deposition manufacturing

18. Stereolithography (STL/SLA)
RP process for fabricating a solid plastic part out of a
photosensitive liquid polymer using a directed laser
beam to solidify the polymer
• Part fabrication is accomplished as a series of layers,
in which one layer is added onto the previous layer to
gradually build the desired 3-D geometry
• The first addition RP technology - introduced 1988 by
3D Systems Inc. based on the work of Charles Hull
• More installations of STL than any other RP method

19. Figure 2 - Stereolithography: (1) at the start of the process, in
which the initial layer is added to the platform; and (2) after
several layers have been added so that the part geometry
gradually takes form

20. Figure 3 - A part produced by stereolithography
(photo courtesy of 3D Systems, Inc.)

21. Some Facts about STL
• Each layer is 0.076 mm to 0.50 mm (0.003 in to
0.020 in.) thick
− Thinner layers provide better resolution and more
intricate shapes; but processing time is longer
• The starting materials are liquid monomers
• Polymerization occurs upon exposure to UV light
produced by helium-cadmium or argon ion lasers
− Laser scan speeds typically 500 to 2500 mm/s

22. Solid Ground Curing (SGC)
Like stereolithography, SGC works by curing a
photosensitive polymer layer by layer to create a
solid model based on CAD geometric data
• Instead of using a scanning laser beam to cure a
given layer, the entire layer is exposed to a UV
source through a mask above the liquid polymer
• Hardening takes 2 to 3 s for each layer

23. Figure 4 - SGC steps
for each layer:
(1) mask preparation,
(2) applying liquid
photopolymer
layer,
(3) mask positioning
and exposure of
layer,
(4) uncured polymer
removed from
surface,
(5) wax filling,
(6) milling for flatness
and thickness

24. Facts about SGC
• The sequence for each layer takes about 90 seconds
• Time to produce a part by SGC is claimed to be
about eight times faster than other RP systems
• The solid cubic form created in SGC consists of solid
polymer and wax

25. Droplet Deposition Manufacturing (DDM)
The starting material is melted and small droplets are
shot by a nozzle onto a previously formed layer
• Droplets cold weld to surface to form a new layer
• Deposition for each layer controlled by a moving x-y
spray nozzle whose path is based on a cross-section
of a CAD geometric model that is sliced into layers
• After each layer is applied, the platform supporting
the part is lowered a distance = to the layer thickness
• Work materials used in DDM include wax and
thermoplastics

26. Solid-Based Rapid Prototyping Systems
• Starting material is a solid
• Two solid-based RP systems are presented here:
− Laminated object manufacturing
− Fused deposition modeling

27. Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
A solid physical model is made by stacking layers of
sheet stock, each an outline of the cross-sectional
shape of a CAD model that is sliced into layers
• Starting material = sheet stock, such as paper,
plastic, cellulose, metals, or fiber-reinforced materials
• The sheet material is usually supplied with adhesive
backing as rolls that are spooled between two reels
• After cutting, excess material in the layer remains in
place to support the part during building

28. Figure 5 - Laminated object manufacturing

29. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
RP process in which a long filament of wax or
polymer is extruded onto the existing part surface
from a workhead to complete each new layer
• The workhead is controlled in the x-y plane during
each layer and then moves up by a distance equal to
one layer in the z-direction
• The extrudate is solidified and cold welded to the
cooler part surface in about 0.1 s
• Part is fabricated from the base up, using a layer-by-
layer procedure

30. Powder-Based Rapid Prototyping
Systems
• Starting material is a powder
• Two RP systems are described here:
− Selective laser sintering
− Three dimensional printing

31. Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
A moving laser beam sinters heat-fusible powders in
areas corresponding to the CAD geometry model one
layer at a time to build the solid part
• After each layer is completed, a new layer of loose
powders is spread across the surface
• Layer by layer, the powders are gradually bonded
into a solid mass that forms the 3-D part geometry
• In areas not sintered by the laser beam, the powders
are loose and can be poured out of completed part

32. Three Dimensional Printing (3DP)
In 3DP, the part is built in layer-by-layer fashion using
an ink-jet printer to eject adhesive bonding material
onto successive layers of powders
• The binder is deposited in areas corresponding to the
cross-sections of the solid part, as determined by
slicing the CAD geometric model into layers
• The binder holds the powders together to form the
solid part, while the unbonded powders remain loose
to be removed later
• To further strengthen the part, a sintering step can be
applied to bond the individual powders

33. Figure 6 - Three dimensional printing: (1) powder layer is
deposited, (2) ink-jet printing of areas that will become the part,
and (3) piston is lowered for next layer (key: v = motion)

34. RP Applications
• Applications of rapid prototyping can be classified
into three categories:
1. Design
2. Engineering analysis and planning
3. Tooling and manufacturing

35. RP Applications: Design
• Designers are able to confirm their design by building
a real physical model in minimum time using RP
• Design benefits :
− Reduced lead times to produce prototype
components
− Improved ability to visualize part geometry
− Early detection and reduction of design errors
− Increased capability to compute mass properties

36. RP Applications: Engineering Analysis
and Planning
• Existence of part allows certain engineering analysis
and planning activities to be accomplished that would
be more difficult without the physical entity
− Comparison of different shapes and styles to
determine aesthetic appeal
− Wind tunnel testing of different streamline shapes
− Stress analysis of a physical model
− Fabrication of pre-production parts for process
planning and tool design

37. RP Applications: Tooling
• Called rapid tool making (RTM) when RP is used to
fabricate production tooling

38. RP Applications: Manufacturing
• Small batches of plastic parts that could not be
economically injection molded because of the high
mold cost
• Parts with complex internal geometries that could not
be made using conventional technologies without
assembly
• One-of-a-kind parts such as bone replacements that
must be made to correct size for each user

39. Problems with Rapid Prototyping
• Part accuracy:
− Staircase appearance for a sloping part surface
due to layering
− Shrinkage and distortion of RP parts
• Limited variety of materials in RP
− Mechanical performance of the fabricated parts is
limited by the materials that must be used in the
RP process